Ten Years and Four Walls
by anotherFMAfan
Summary: "Edward Elric's life had not been easy." First-anime (2003) AU, in which Al was restored when Ed was 18. RoyXEd, warning for language and adult themes. Written for the anime's 10-year anniversary in 2013.


Edward Elric's life had not been easy.

If it had, he would, in all likelihood, be a very different person, doing very different things, surrounded by very different people; but as it was his life had been very hard, and he ended up in Central at eighteen years old, living with and working for a bastard, better known as Roy Mustang. He lived a few streets down from his brother (the original plan had been for him to live next-door, but Roy had wisely pointed out the potential for 'noise pollution' at night…or in the morning…or, well, at any time, really) and a fifteen-minute walk from headquarters.

Roy, upon becoming a general of the highest respect, had earned the right to live on a grand, expensive estate with all the trappings of such, and have personal servants. He had begun plans for such with great enthusiasm, all of which he relayed proudly to Edward, until one day he just stopped speaking, mid-sentence, and looked at him. Edward didn't know exactly what expression he might have been wearing on his face, but Roy never mentioned the grand house again, for which Ed was grateful. Edward's life had not been easy, and before that it was plain. A gilded cage simply held no appeal.

So, they lived in a small house on an ordinary street in Central City. Ed went to work during the week, spent more time with Roy during the weekend, had lots and lots of good sex, paid taxes and cussed about it, talked shop with his brother, washed the dishes only when he really had to, made Roy do the laundry, insulted people and caught hell for it later. He slept on the couch (or even the porch) when he was really in the doghouse, raked the leaves in the fall so that he and Al could jump in them when Roy wasn't looking. He watched unhelpfully as Roy piled up the fireplace in the winter, he made out with him in the rain and got caught, he looked at the calendar one day and realized that years had passed.

As he stared at the small block designated for that day, he felt Roy's arms come around him from behind, and wondered how the fuck he was twenty-five already. He patted Roy's arm absently as he tried to count back, put the years where they belonged. Al had been back in the flesh for a whole seven years now, and he and Roy were approaching ten years together. Roy kissed the side of his face, and Ed responded with a grunt of greeting. _Ten years_ , how could that be true?

It couldn't have been nearly a decade since they first found out what an explosive combination they could make _outside_ of an argument. That long since Al had told him flatly that he already knew, and thus approved, because if he didn't approve Ed would damn well hear about it. That long since Edward had first been loved and loved in return, and learned how painful a thing that could be.

Roy was mouthing hotly at the edge of his earlobe now, making a shiver run down his no-longer teenaged body. "Hey," he offered, and Roy purred lowly in response, started nuzzling at his neck. Ed let out a sigh and let his body relax; it felt so good. It'd been a long week.

Wait a fucking second, a long week? What the hell was he bitching about? No one had tried to kill him, Al was safe, the country was stable, and he and Roy hadn't fought any more than usual.

And maybe that, he realized abruptly, was what made all the difference. Edward's life had not been easy, and now it was.

"What, that's it?" he muttered skeptically. It certainly didn't seem to line up with the opinion he'd formed of the bitch called "Life" his first eighteen years; but maybe, despite it all, it was truly that simple. Maybe, there really was such a thing as _enough_.

"Mmm?" Roy asked, sounding a little put out that his overtures had caused that reaction.

"'S nothin', nothing," he said, and turned to face his lover properly. Roy instantly slipped his arms around Ed's waist, a comfortable and familiar position for them, considering Ed had gotten only marginally taller (GODDAMN it). Ed leaned up for what he had intended to be a welcome-home peck, but quickly became otherwise as Roy frenched him obscenely. Managing to break away after a few moments, he asked breathlessly, "It was that bad?"

"Not at all," Roy replied smoothly, eyelashes lowered over bedroom eyes. "I just want you."

"Yeah, I figured that much out," Ed snorted, easing his hands back to grab the man's ass, making his hips twitch in surprise. "In our room this time, though. Al's coming over later."

"Anything for you, love," he promised, and Ed gave a disgusted snort, not so much at his lover as at himself for the fact that he didn't even bother to object to that title anymore. He whipped the door shut on his way into the bedroom, and managed to strip his sweatshirt off before Roy had a chance to push him down to the bed.

 _Ten years we've been at this_ , _holy shit,_ he thought as he grinned toothily up at Roy, who was moving to sit between his legs. He smoothed his left palm up and down Ed's thigh as he worked on getting his boots off, giving him positively the lustiest looks as he did.

"How was your day?" he husked, taking a poke at typical domestic bliss.

"Good," Ed smiled, and really _meant_ it. "About to get better."

A smirk spread slowly across his face (that goddamn smirk was one thing that was always going to make Ed feel a twitch of irritation, no matter _how_ many years passed), and he pulled his white collared shirt off over his head, too impatient to work the buttons open. And Ed agreed whole-heartedly— enough talking. The sight of Roy's skin could still blindside him with _want_ , made him yearn with his whole body for the sensation of that skin sliding against his own, the desire to feel and touch and know no other form of communication so efficient.

After that need had once again been sated, after the give and take and after their breath had evened, they both sat quietly up against the headboard (no passing out, because Al was coming over, as Ed had again reminded him).

"Hey," Ed said, but got no response, so he whacked a hand in Roy's direction. "Hey!"

"Yes, yes," the general said, seeming irritated to have been forced out of his sex-induced haze, rubbing his smarting arm. "What?"

"Y'know it's almost ten years since we…started doin' it?"

The general cast a glance across the bed at him.

"So that's what your sudden fascination with the wall calendar was about," he remarked. "I knew it couldn't be because you had actually noticed you missed the deadline for your research assessment."

"Shuddup," Ed griped, "I got an extension, _thank you_ , asshole. You're not in charge of my assessment anymore, so butt out."

Roy rolled his eyes but otherwise made no comment.

"What about it?" he prompted finally, when Edward didn't continue.

"I dunno," Ed shrugged. "Just, damn, you know, ten years. And too, it took seven years to get Al's body back, and now it's been seven years since that. Kinda like…I don't know. Full circle, somehow." Ed put his Automail arm up over the top of the headboard, let his hand rest on Roy's far shoulder.

"Y'know," he allowed, looking up at the man, "I gotta say, s'not as bad as I thought it'd be."

Ed couldn't help a smile as his eyes moved over Roy face. Not that he would ever, ever TELL the egomaniac this, but the little changes that had occurred over the last decade suited him. It was as though he'd been distilled a little, refined. It was looking like he was going to manage to be even sexier in his forties than he'd been in his thirties, which was totally unfair, but seeing as Ed was the one who stood to gain, he couldn't be too upset about it.

Roy smiled back ruefully and leaned down to kiss him. It was slow and sensual, Roy's mouth over his, Roy's tongue touching his own, but just as Ed was learning forward for more, Roy pulled back.

"I'm not going to fall for that," he stated evenly.

Ed blinked and gave a snort.

"What'dya mean?"

"You're trying to trick me into pouring my heart out so that you can stomp on it with your heeled boots," he accused, pointedly flicking the metal fingers of the hand on his shoulder.

"WHO'S STILL SO SHORT AT A QUARTER-CENTURY OLD THAT HE DOESN'T EVEN MEASURE UP TO A 25-CEN PIECE?!"

The general winced and put a hand to his ear nearest Ed.

"I'm not tricking you into shit, here I am saying exactly that kind of mushy shit you love, I'm telling you I'm happy! I am! Al's back, safe, doin' great. I got a job and house and friends, good food." When Roy just silently _looked_ at him, he hastily tacked on, "And, y'know, you and I are…still doin' it, and everything."

Roy let out a long, beleaguered sigh and shrugged out from under Ed's arm, settling down in the bed and turning to face the wall.

"Case in point. Overlooking the fact that you apparently only even consider _mentioning_ me for the sex, not only do I rank below food and your job and ALL of your other friends, I rank below the HOUSE! I bought this house!"

"Shit, you can find a way to complain about ANYTHING, can't you, bastard? FIRST of all, that's total bullshit, you might have PICKED the house but at LEAST half of that money was mine. You can't count food, all humans need that to live, and don't you even start with the job shit, because you DAMN well know that I don't rank above your fancy-ass General "Save-The-World" Mustang gig, either."

When he didn't reply, Ed gave a mental sigh, and lay down beside him, wrapped his arms around him from behind. He leaned his forehead against the smooth skin of Roy's back. He must really _have_ been with this maudlin idiot for ten years, if he could so easily worm this out of him….

"The house doesn't mean shit if you're not in it. You know that."

 _Even though it is true._

Roy turned around, a soft smile on his face, and kissed Edward his thank-you, so as to interrupt him as he muttered about insecure bastards and fishing for compliments.

"Ten years," Roy mused, tracing his fingers along the side of Ed's face. "You think you're up for another decade or so?"

Edward grinned.

"I think I ought to be asking you if you're up to it," he snickered. "You're the one who gets winded walking up the steps at HQ."

There was a low growl.

"Havoc is a dead man come Monday morning," he ground out, and Ed laughed.

* * *

"Home is any four walls that enclose the right person." –Helen Rowland


End file.
